Click on it to get the larger size then save it to your computer as you should be good to go.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Boat photo of Dan
By Popular demand I have posted a large sized copy of this photo of Dad as a young boy.
Click on it to get the larger size then save it to your computer as you should be good to go.
Click on it to get the larger size then save it to your computer as you should be good to go.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Top 10 Things you Learn Growing up Miller
(Written and read by Kari Brown at the 03/12/2011 service for Dan)
10 - Safety equipment should really just be ignored
9 - You know every episode of Hee Haw , and even the extras start to look familiar
8 - Ability to face any financial situation with a sense of carefree abandon
7 - No joke is too bad to be told…and retold, and told again
6 - Even at 17 you still qualify for the child's rate at the movies
5 - Knowing how to drive any type of car, farm equipment or go kart, street legal or not
4 - "Hoo Ha, Hey" qualifies as a legitimate answer to any question
3 - Falls from the roof, chain saw accidents and car crashes MAY qualify as an emergency...if the bandaids won't stay on
2 - When in doubt, just make it up
1 - All your presents come from Orchard Supply Hardware!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Eulogy given at Dan's funeral on March 12th, 2011
DAN'S EULOGY (Written and read by son Sean Miller)
Daniel David Miller April 20,1924-March 7,2011 Resident of Sunnyvale Dr. Daniel David Miller passed away at 12:25 a.m., Monday, 3-7-11. Dan was born 4-20-24 in Owensville, MO. He grew up in Ashton, IA, and lived over 50 years in Sunnyvale, CA. Dan was a Navy veteran of WW II and Korea as well as an inventor and scientist. Preceding him in death were his parents, 13 siblings, and his first wife Phyllis Howie. Dan is survived by his wife of more than 33 years, Agnes Ann, and his children and their families: Bonnie Breann Miller; Dan Kat Miller; Annabelle, Rick, Peter, Jamie, Annabelle Varney; Sean, Stacy, Kiersten, Chris Miller; Don, Shemaina, Kaelan, Kati, Solana Miller; Jen, Haley, Ashley Tietz; and Barbara Miller.
Dan was larger than life. Everyone knew Dan and all were glad to associate with him. This is a snap shot of his life.
Dan was one of 14 children.
He and his identical twin brother Don did everything together when they were young. A funny story from his childhood was he and Uncle Don switching jerseys in basketball games when one was in foul trouble.
Dad along with his six brothers, and 1 sister served in World War II. Grandma Miller had a letter from President Roosevelt thanking her for the family's sacrifice. Grandma probably had the only 8 blue star flag that we've ever heard of. The flag indicated numbers of family members' serving in the military.
Dad served in World War II as an Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class and Tail Gunner on an SBD Dive Bomber.
He went to pilot training
He received his commission in 1949
He attended parachute training in San Diego while the 871st Fighter Squadron was preparing to deploy to Korea in the first days of the Korean War.
He served as the squadron maintenance officer and all of his sailors loved working for him. When the Princeton went to Tokyo for R and R, Dad broke the laundry machines 2 days out of port so his guys could get liberty. He also got the squadron's officers together to pay the Japanese locals to paint the hangar that way all his sailors could go on liberty. One of his sailors told the Admiral that he enjoyed being part of Mr. Miller's Navy.
Dad took care of his sailors.
He finished his BS in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkley after the War.
He and Uncle Don along with Uncle Hank worked summers as lumberjacks to help pay for school.
Dad took a car off a mountainside in Montana in the early 50's in a snow storm. He climbed into the back seat as the car went over the cliff thinking he would be less hurt in the back. After the crash, He crawled to the railroad, where luckily a special train came through and the crew rescued him. Otherwise he would have frozen to death.
God definitely watched out for Dan during 2 Wars and then this accident. This is where the phrase "It would have killed a lesser man" came from.
He went to Harvard and received his MBA
He married Phyllis Howie in 1957
They had Bonnie and then Dan
When Bonnie and Dan were young, the family moved to Arizona so Dan could work on his PhD in education from Arizona State
Dad restored and completely redesigned the cooling system of his 1935 Bentley, which took first place at the Concours D'Elegance at Pebble Beach in 1976
He married Agnes, in 1977. They then combined a family of six children Bonnie, Dan, Annabelle, Sean, Don, and Jen.
Barbie came along 2 years later as the Baby to make a complete family yours, mine and ours.
Along the way Dad and Uncle Don invented the first automated bowling scorer, first electronic test scorer and many others. They held multiple US and worldwide Patents.
Dad was a member of various Elk's Lodges for many years where he obtained the nickname "Mr. Lucky".
He bowled only the team average until Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then his score would mysteriously go up as he was bowling for turkeys to feed the families, his own and others. One time he came home with 5 turkeys.
Dad was a Raiders season ticket holder for many years and took the kids to the games with him often.
Every summer he would take the family to his Brother Frank's place in Dillon, Montana. There we would split enough wood for the winter, fix the house and anything else he needed. This is when He led by example and taught us about serving others. Hmm this must be why the Miller Kids generally fix their own houses. Personally I never knew how we made it there and back every year in some of the clunkers we drove. Oh wait yes I do, Dan and I would fix them. Must have been my start to being the Motor Sergeant I am today.
Dad always told the corniest jokes. His friends would insist his jokes were right out of Boy's Life.
Dad always worked hard. All 7 kids know how to work, you did not have to like work you just did it. I personally have painted hundreds of gallons of Navajo white on houses. Later in life, He and Don formed Armstrong Construction, Ashton Properties Limited or whatever the name of the year was. Working for Dad and Uncle Don put most of us kids and our cousins through college.
These days, the Military and Big Business spends hundreds of millions of dollars on teaching people about values, ethics and honesty.
The Army Values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. I find it ironic that we now have to teach these values to people.
To those of who knew and loved Dan Miller he embodied all of these characteristics without some having to repeatedly remind him about them. Every Generation has there great men and Dan Miller was one of his. He was what I think of as a Quiet Professional. Most things he did for others, he never got recognized because he did not live for recognition. He did what had to be done and moved on. We would like to thank all of those in attendence and those who have helped the family during these trying times.
Daniel David Miller April 20,1924-March 7,2011 Resident of Sunnyvale Dr. Daniel David Miller passed away at 12:25 a.m., Monday, 3-7-11. Dan was born 4-20-24 in Owensville, MO. He grew up in Ashton, IA, and lived over 50 years in Sunnyvale, CA. Dan was a Navy veteran of WW II and Korea as well as an inventor and scientist. Preceding him in death were his parents, 13 siblings, and his first wife Phyllis Howie. Dan is survived by his wife of more than 33 years, Agnes Ann, and his children and their families: Bonnie Breann Miller; Dan Kat Miller; Annabelle, Rick, Peter, Jamie, Annabelle Varney; Sean, Stacy, Kiersten, Chris Miller; Don, Shemaina, Kaelan, Kati, Solana Miller; Jen, Haley, Ashley Tietz; and Barbara Miller.
Dan was larger than life. Everyone knew Dan and all were glad to associate with him. This is a snap shot of his life.
Dan was one of 14 children.
He and his identical twin brother Don did everything together when they were young. A funny story from his childhood was he and Uncle Don switching jerseys in basketball games when one was in foul trouble.
Dad along with his six brothers, and 1 sister served in World War II. Grandma Miller had a letter from President Roosevelt thanking her for the family's sacrifice. Grandma probably had the only 8 blue star flag that we've ever heard of. The flag indicated numbers of family members' serving in the military.
Dad served in World War II as an Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class and Tail Gunner on an SBD Dive Bomber.
He went to pilot training
He received his commission in 1949
He attended parachute training in San Diego while the 871st Fighter Squadron was preparing to deploy to Korea in the first days of the Korean War.
He served as the squadron maintenance officer and all of his sailors loved working for him. When the Princeton went to Tokyo for R and R, Dad broke the laundry machines 2 days out of port so his guys could get liberty. He also got the squadron's officers together to pay the Japanese locals to paint the hangar that way all his sailors could go on liberty. One of his sailors told the Admiral that he enjoyed being part of Mr. Miller's Navy.
Dad took care of his sailors.
He finished his BS in Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkley after the War.
He and Uncle Don along with Uncle Hank worked summers as lumberjacks to help pay for school.
Dad took a car off a mountainside in Montana in the early 50's in a snow storm. He climbed into the back seat as the car went over the cliff thinking he would be less hurt in the back. After the crash, He crawled to the railroad, where luckily a special train came through and the crew rescued him. Otherwise he would have frozen to death.
God definitely watched out for Dan during 2 Wars and then this accident. This is where the phrase "It would have killed a lesser man" came from.
He went to Harvard and received his MBA
He married Phyllis Howie in 1957
They had Bonnie and then Dan
When Bonnie and Dan were young, the family moved to Arizona so Dan could work on his PhD in education from Arizona State
Dad restored and completely redesigned the cooling system of his 1935 Bentley, which took first place at the Concours D'Elegance at Pebble Beach in 1976
He married Agnes, in 1977. They then combined a family of six children Bonnie, Dan, Annabelle, Sean, Don, and Jen.
Barbie came along 2 years later as the Baby to make a complete family yours, mine and ours.
Along the way Dad and Uncle Don invented the first automated bowling scorer, first electronic test scorer and many others. They held multiple US and worldwide Patents.
Dad was a member of various Elk's Lodges for many years where he obtained the nickname "Mr. Lucky".
He bowled only the team average until Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then his score would mysteriously go up as he was bowling for turkeys to feed the families, his own and others. One time he came home with 5 turkeys.
Dad was a Raiders season ticket holder for many years and took the kids to the games with him often.
Every summer he would take the family to his Brother Frank's place in Dillon, Montana. There we would split enough wood for the winter, fix the house and anything else he needed. This is when He led by example and taught us about serving others. Hmm this must be why the Miller Kids generally fix their own houses. Personally I never knew how we made it there and back every year in some of the clunkers we drove. Oh wait yes I do, Dan and I would fix them. Must have been my start to being the Motor Sergeant I am today.
Dad always told the corniest jokes. His friends would insist his jokes were right out of Boy's Life.
Dad always worked hard. All 7 kids know how to work, you did not have to like work you just did it. I personally have painted hundreds of gallons of Navajo white on houses. Later in life, He and Don formed Armstrong Construction, Ashton Properties Limited or whatever the name of the year was. Working for Dad and Uncle Don put most of us kids and our cousins through college.
These days, the Military and Big Business spends hundreds of millions of dollars on teaching people about values, ethics and honesty.
The Army Values are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. I find it ironic that we now have to teach these values to people.
To those of who knew and loved Dan Miller he embodied all of these characteristics without some having to repeatedly remind him about them. Every Generation has there great men and Dan Miller was one of his. He was what I think of as a Quiet Professional. Most things he did for others, he never got recognized because he did not live for recognition. He did what had to be done and moved on. We would like to thank all of those in attendence and those who have helped the family during these trying times.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)